One former boxing world champion tweeted a single phrase this week that sums up where boxing is – as an entire sport at the moment.
A 39-year-old without a fight in two years, Chad Dawson did what many semi-retired fighters would do when signing for their retirement supper.
The three-time world light-heavyweight ruler delved into the depths of the wrong side of combat when saying: “I’d be interested in boxing an MMA fighter or a celebrity,” via his social media account.
I’d be interested in boxing an MMA fighter or a celebrity ????
— Chad Dawson (@OfficialBadChad) December 13, 2021
Both options are money-making exercises and hold no weight in the sport whatsoever. But they indicate where boxing has sunk to since Instagram, Twitter and Facebook became matchmakers simply due to followers.
How many people are interested in what you say, and the percentage of those willing to pay to see you fight has taken precedence over the actual entertainment value of a fight.
Many boxers come to a place in their career where getting fans to pay for a substandard product doesn’t even cross their minds. They only want the payday, and nothing else seems to matter.
BOXING PAY PER VIEW
YouTubers and other non-boxers enter the sport for this very reason. Pay Per View is an effortless way to make money on a promise without delivering anything significant.
Once that purchaser pays the PPV fee, the money is in the bag. You could literally take a dump in the ring, and nobody would be able to get their money back.
It’s the oldest and fast becoming the only trick in the book for vloggers, celebrities, and influencers to pillage the sport for gain.
Sadly, boxing fans in this era, especially those of the millennial variety, are far more interested in what influencer wants to rob the sport blind. They’d rather see that freak show than an actually skilled boxer display their talent.
It’s a sign of the times we live in now. But hopefully one that soon fades before boxing gets totally ruined.
Dawson’s tweet is what pugilism looks like in the 2020s, unfortunately.
Awful.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
